April 29, 2011

A look at the 2011 Brandon McCarthy

While it’s pretty rare to find a pitcher who has made such major changes in approach and arm angle in the major leagues, it’s even more rare to find someone who has made whole cloth mechanical changes in addition to revamping how he attacks hitters.McCarthy has obviously made the basic mechanical change of arm slot (as shown in PITCHf/x data), but it goes way beyond that when you examine the video evidence. Compare his mechanics from 2009 in this high-speed shot by Trip Somers of TexasLeaguers.com to the video I shot in 2011: